


After the Run 1: We Don't Work There Anymore

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-09-17
Updated: 2003-09-17
Packaged: 2019-04-27 06:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14419653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Skinner and Kersh call in a favor from Mulder.  A Skeptical Mulder contemplates meeting Kersh.





	After the Run 1: We Don't Work There Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

We Don't Work There Anymore

## We Don't Work There Anymore

### by Pattie

Title: We Don't Work There Anymore, Part 1 of After the Run Series.  
Author: Pattie  
Rated: G  
Categorization:  
Summary: A.D. Skinner and A.D. Kersh call in a favor from Mulder as he's at the most happy time in his life. Will he help them?  
Archive: Gossamer and any other nice home. Please tell me. Disclaimers: All characters, references to original Myth-Arc and  
the X-Files title belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox Studios 

There was never any doubt in their minds that this would be the best place to settle down and raise a family, especially now that William was going to have a baby brother or sister. Dana Scully was four four months pregnant and delighted to be expecting again. They had opted for a small, civil ceremony at a courthouse rather than a traditional church wedding given the circumstances under which William was conceived and born, and their exile from the F.B.I. It was better for them to stay as low-profile as possible until the whole Colonization process was either done with or prevented. 

Armed with the information needed to fend off the pending doom, the best experts in the country were recruited for the task of manufacturing and distributing the Purity vaccine. As for the mining and delivery of magnecite, that was going smoothly as well. Whether it had to be hand-delivered or distributed into the air, there was going to be an eradication of the menacing aliens. There were ways, means, and people to do it. 

Life was quiet in West Tisbury. The winters could sometimes bring quite nasty snowstorms, the summers torrents of rain, but there were many days and weeks of lovely weather for the little family to enjoy to the fullest. Walks with William in the parks were especially relaxing to Scully and Mulder after a long day. Scully would eventually be teaching at medical school and Mulder was already instructing potential profilers in the fine art of Criminal Psychology. The salary was enough to keep them quite well in the old house where once BillMulder lived after divorcing Fox's mother, Teena. 

This summer morning, during a well-deserved vacation, the last thing Fox Mulder expected was for anyone but Maggie Scully to call. He had taken to answering the telephone with "Hello" rather than "Mulder" since relocating, as Scully had suggested. What a difficult habit to adopt after so many years... 

He was in the kitchen grabbing some juice for William when the phone rang. "Hello?" 

"It's Skinner. I need to speak with you. I need a favor." 

"Walter, I'm on summer vacation, Dana's having a baby in five months, I'm in the middle of playing games with William, and right now, I see no need to be speaking to anyone at your workplace..." Mulder didn't want to be rude, but felt an urgent need to have all ties with the Bureau cut permanently, even if Walter Skinner was a friend and ally. 

"This is a criminal case. Strictly mainstream. We had hiring cuts and early retirements. Now I am very short-handed here..." 

"I appreciate that, Walter, and I don't mean to be ungrateful, but you know why we aren't there, why we will not go back there, and what will have to happen if we think of going back there. I have to go. Scully is at an appointment and William is waiting. Take care." 

Skinner could understand Mulder's concerns for his family's safety. They HAD done their part in allowing William and themselves to have blood samples for antibodies taken, and they needed to feel secure in order to raise their family. Still, he missed the dedication these two agents had had in the past, especially the workaholic Mulder of the X-Files. He resolved to callagain later to find out if anything had changed Mulder's mind. The times were tough as far as manpower was concerned. To top it off, kidnappings and senseless acts of violence had been escalating in the past two years. "Please reconsider," he whispered. Files to be signed were never in short supply for assistant directors these days, so he returned to his forms. It pained him that Mulder dismissed his call so tersely. Before Walter could put pen to paper again, he had to think of some way to communicate withthe man. "Criminal cases. Mainstream. Who am I kidding?" There seemed a lot more to it than that. 

As Mulder put William down for a mid-morning nap, he went over the words Skinner had used. "Needs a favor. Well, old Spooky doesn't mainstream, and the X-Files are gone, history, not there, defunct. There was more in the voice than in the words. No... I will not do any more than I have done. We have the magnecite, the antibodies, no more sacrifices. This is my life now. I have paid my dues." 

Dana Scully Mulder pulled up to the house and carried a shopping bag into the house. "Hey, William nappping already?" 

"Uh, yeah. He just closed his eyes. How was the doctor's visit?" 

"The ususal. Healthy weight gain, uterus growing well, and a very little person has an audible heartbeat. Mother and child very healthy. And... I bought a mobile. Boats, whales, and anchors." 

"No buffaloes?" 

"No buffaloes! What would make you think of them now?" 

"Uh, never mind me. I had a rather cryptic call this morning. Skinner. He claimed he wanted me to do some mainstream work again, in crime. Short-handed." 

Scully sat on the sofa and put her feet up. Already she was experiencing some swelling. "I hope you told him you were already busy," she said. "Anything else is already taken care of in all the evidence, the blood samples, and we are off-limits." She sighed. Mulder remained quiet. "You did tell him you weren't interested, right?" 

"Yes, I did just that. I dunno, Scully, he just seemed to be holding something back. I can't endanger us anymore and I won't. We have our world right here, with another adorable uber Scully-Mulder on the way," he patted her abdomen. "This is our reward for all we've done well, and I am not going back to Washington." 

Scully closed her eyes for a moment. "You're not even curious that he may have wanted you for something, mainstream or not?" 

"No." Mulder took Scully's hands in his and said, "I promised to give you a life free from freaks, monsters, slime, aliens, and hidden agendas. You once asked me if I ever wanted a normal life. Now I have one with you." 

"You are curious," she couldn't suppress a grin. 

"Do not answer the phone if a Washington area code is on the display." 

"Well, I guess you have made up your mind. I'll put this in the nursery and grab a tea. Want some?" Scully rose with the bag as Mulder took it from her. 

"I'll put this away for you. Maybe you should just let me make thetea. Get those pretty ankles back down to normal." 

"You know I hate inactivity," she quipped. 

"Well, then... " Mulder had that look. 

"I think I'll pass on the activity until tonight, okay?" 

"I always honor rainchecks! Service with a smile. Our room. Tonight." 

As Mulder left the room, Scully thought of any possible reasons Skinner might want Mulder to even think of working for the F.B.I. again. There was no reason for Mulder to entertain the idea. She had had her fill of the Bureau as well. Washington, Maryland, any and all offices. She had never seen Mulder more fulfilled and happy before he brought her out here. "No more thinking about the place," she said under her breath. "No more." 

Late that morning, Kersh was on the phone to Skinner. "Walter, we can't do it without the man. Did you give anything away over the phone?" 

"All I said was that we were short-handed and we needed him in crime. That I needed a favor." 

"Maybe I should give him a call," Kersh offered. "There has to be a way to get him here without upsetting Scully right now." 

"And maybe they deserve their own lives back, Alvin. I know it's hard to coordinate the entire plan, but it must be done without Mulder and Scully. They've done their part and gone beyond their share. We're almost ready to implement the details as we agreed upon. Leave him alone." 

"Look, Walter. There are a couple of things he has knowledge of more than we do. Isn't this his function?" 

Skinner thought for a moment. "I think he meant what he said. It was pretty clear to me he wanted no more to do with this on a professional basis. Let him be. I might add he is functioning very well as a husband and father. He has his new job and he is very happy." 

"So what do we do?" 

"We carry on, Alvin. We have to do this for them." 

As Scully scrubbed down William's high chair after lunch, the child played contentedly with building blocks on the kitchen floor. 

"Well, are you making Mummy a big tower? I bet you are!" He was a delightfully imaginative child and could sometimes play on his own until his parents were through with their immediate chores. His tower toppled and he just laughed, proceeding to make some sort of fence or enclosure. "Mahmee... la la la..." 

"Yes, it is a lot of work building things! You are a hard worker!" 

Scully put the cloth in the sink and sat to finish her coffee. 

Mulder had been preparing notes for his next inclusion of students, and came into the kitchen for a coffee. 

"Well, I see William is keeping you and baby company." He filled a mug and sat at the kitchen table, engrossed in the glow on Scully's face. "I've never seen you looking so fulfilled since the day you visited me in the hospital when you were carrying William." 

"I feel quite happy, Mulder. And guess what? This little marvel kicked, well it really was a flutter, but I felt the first movement about five minutes ago!" 

Mulder put his hand to her abdomen gently, waiting to feel a "flutter". "Hmm, asleep, I guess." 

"You wait. They'll get more frequent over time, and before you know it, you'll be saying ouch in the night and blaming me. Besides..." 

The phone rang and Mulder was up in a shot. "I told him no," he repeated. "Hello?" There was no name or number displayed, so he took a chance on the caller being Scully's mother, or the College. 

"Don't hang up on me," Kersh's voice pleaded. "I think Walter told you he needs a favor. We need a favor." 

"I am retired from the Bureau and very happy to be so. There are students ready to become profilers, and there is a baby waiting to be born with me present this time, so if you'll..." 

"Hang on... I want to ask if you'll do this one thing for us." 

"Well I have politely said no, and I do mean that." 

Scully picked up the extension on the desk in the livingroom. 

"Look, Mulder, This is a favor not only to us, but to the plan." 

Scully broke in. "Now, wait a minute, Sir. My husband told you he was distancing himself from the Bureau forever and he meant it. There is nothing you can say to either of us to persuade us to..." 

"Gibson Praise..." 

That got to Mulder. "What about him? He had better be safe or..." 

"Calm down, he's safe," Kersh said with great composure. "He's contacted us." 

Scully's mouth dropped and Mulder's curiosity got the better of him. "About what?" 

"Can you be here tomorrow at 3:00, at the Happy Burger on Fifth?" 

"Call me back in ten minutes. This affects the three of us in this house, and I always consult with Scully." Mulder hung up abruptly, and Scully followed. 

"I can't think of anything off-hand they'd need us for," said Scully. 

"Maybe they ran into a glitch; maybe it's great news and I left something out. Maybe something they should know about. We were pretty thorough, though." 

"I thought so. Whether you decide to meet with Kersh or not, I'm with you all the way. You know that." 

"Just tomorrow afternoon, and that's it. I think you and William should stay here. No sense changing his normal routine for my meeting. My very brief meeting." 

**###END###**

Pattie.   
  


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